Virgil, like Homer, is a bard - but they are a world and an age apart.
Homer composed orally, from memory, using formulae, repeated patterns
of words and themes. These he skilfully wove into his narrative, always
in accordance with the hexameter metre, which was reserved for such
epic poetry. His audience may well have been royalty
and commoners alike, the occasion probably weddings
or festivals of one kind or another, the venue might
have been palaces or public places, the time, we
think, was some time around 700BC, although his story of the Trojan
War and the Return of Odysseus was set in the Bronze Age, maybe around
1250BC. Homer's identity, of course remains a mystery
and the subject of ongoing speculation. Homer's intention
was to record and celebrate a glorious past, set in the Age of the
Heroes. Or maybe it was just to entertain, for he was, after all,
a professional rhapsodos,
a singer whose job was to entertain.

Virgil
was a Roman poet, living at a time of great change
and upheaval in the Roman world. In his lifetime he saw the end of the
Republic and the beginnings of the Empire, under the rule of Augustus.
Unlike Homer, Virgil could both read and write and his epic work the
Aeneid was composed for a sophisticated audience, including
the Emperor himself. Note, nevertheless, that both poets performed
their work before an audience who would hear the poetry, not read it
silently, as we might a book. There is no doubt about Virgil's identity,
go here for information
about a Life of Virgil by the writer Aelius Donatus. Like Homer, Virgil
takes the story of the Trojan War as his theme and uses the hexameter
metre. But Virgil's method of composition is very different. His lines
were meticulously crafted, written and rewritten until he was satisfied
with them. Some of the lines never were finished, owing to his untimely
death. These are the so-called "pathetic half-lines".

What was Virgil's intention or ambition in writing
the Aeneid? Was it to celebrate the greatness of Rome? the greatness
of Augustus? Is it, then, mere political propaganda?

He chooses a relatively minor character from Homer's Iliad, Aeneas,
and has him escape from the destruction of Troy, embark on an "Odyssey"
which results in his arrival in Italy, where he establishes, through
an "Iliadic" effort the remnants of the Trojan race, with
their gods. From Aeneas and his descendants will come Rome and, ultimately,
Augustus himself.

The worlds of Odysseus and of Aeneas are very different, as are the
characters of these two heroes. For the synoptic Greek and
Roman module you will be expected not only to know the characters, themes
and stories of two epics, but also how they and their authors relate
to each other.

The Examination

Yo are examined on the content of both Greek Epic and Roman Epic.
You should be able to explore the relationships between Greek and Roman
Epic as it is evidenced from the prescribed material. ONE essay must
be done plus ONE context question.

From June 2005 to June 2006 the passages
for comment will be taken from prescribed books of the Odyssey
(Books 5-7 and 17) and Aeneid (Books 3,4 and 10)